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ALL PERSONS ARE CAUTIONED NOT TO PAY FOR THIS BOOK. THIS EDITION 
OF 50,000 COPIES IS PUBLISHED FOR FREE CIRCULATION ONLY. 



[Copyright Secured.) 



FIFTEEN GENT DINNERS 



WORKINGMEN'S FAMILIES. 



This little book may not be a welcome guest in the home of the 
man who fares abundantly every day; it is not written for him; but 
to the working man, who wants to make the best of his wages, I 
pray it may bring help and comfort. 

JULIET CORSON. 



2 



Benevolent Societies, or individuals, can obtain this 
pamphlet for free distribution, at cost of publication, by 
addressing 

Miss Juliet Corson, 

New York Cooking School, 
No. 8 St. Mark's Place, New York. 



ALL PERSONS ARE CAUTIONED NOT TO PAY FOR THIS BOOK. THIS EDITION 
OF 50,000 COPIES IS PUBLISHED FOR FREE CIRCULATION ONLY, 



FIFTEEN CENT DINNERS 

FOP 

FAMILIES OF SIX. 

BY 

JULIET CORSON, 
i » 

Super intend en t of the j\ T eio York Cooking School. 



AUTHOR OF 

*« The Cooking Manual;" " Our Household Council;" " Foods: 
Their Sources, Uses and Methods of Preparation;" 
"The Bill of Fare, with Accompanying Receipts 
and Estimated Cost;" "A Text-Book for 
Cooking Schools;" Twenty-Five 
Cent Dinners for Fam- 
ilies of Six," Etc. 



Published by the Author for free circulation among the families of workingmen earning 
One Dollar and Fifty Cents, or less, per day. 



NEW YORK. 



Oopjnciglit "by JULIET CORSON, 
1877. 

All Kiglits Reserved. 



Please take notice. — All persons are warned against infringement 
of Copyright. 



PREFACE. 



To the Wives of Workingmen : 

In planning how to make the wages of the working man provide 
his family with the necessaries of life, the first point to be considered 
is the daily supply of food. If this little book shows the laborer's 
wife how to feed her husband and children upon one half, or one 
third, or even, in times of great distress, upon the whole of his scanty 
wages, its object will be accomplished. 

The cheapest kinds of food are sometimes the most wholesome and 
strengthening; but in order to obtain all their best qualities we must 
know how to choose them for their freshness, goodness, and suitability 
to our needs. That done, we must see how to cook them, so as to 
make savory and nutritous meals instead of tasteless or sodden messes, 
the eating whereof sends the man to the liquor shop for consolation. 

Good food, properly cooked, gives us good blood, sound bones, 
healthy brains, strong nerves, and firm flesh, to say nothing of good 
tempers and kind hearts. These are surely worth a little trouble to 
secure. 

The first food of nearly all living creatures is milk, the only entire 
natural food; that is, the only food upon which health and strength 
can be sustained for any length of time, without using any other nour- 
ishment. For this reason it is the best food you can give the children 
if you must restrict their diet at all; and it also is a valuable addition 
to the food of grown persons. While this fact about milk is settled, it 
is generally acknowledged by people who study the subject that we 
thrive best on a variety. We get warmth and strength from fat meat, 
wheat, rye, barley, rice, milk, sugar, fruit, peas, beans, lentils, macaro- 
ni, and the roots of vegetables; we gain flesh from lean meat, unbolted 
flour, oatmeal, eggs, cheese, and green vegetables; and, if we want to 
think clearly, we must use fish, poultry, the different grains, and a 
good variety of fruit and vegetables. 

The food most generally in use among the masses is just that which 
meets their requirements. No hungry man will spend money for what 
he knows will not satisfy his appetite. For that reason the receipts 
given in this book treat of the articles in common use among the work- 
ing classes, with the exception of lentils and macaroni, which are foods 

(v.) 



vi. 



PREFACE. 



that I earnestly beg them to try. In meals made up of bacon, pota- 
toes, and bread, of corned beef and cabbage, and of pork and beans, 
there exists an equal and sufficient amount of nourishment; but if other 
dishes are added to these, the variety will result in better general 
health and contentment. If we were to live day after day on rice, 
bread, potatoes, or any one other article of food, we would not long 
be strong enough for any kind of work. In matters of diet variety is 
not only the spice of life ; it is the necessity. 

In estimating the cost of these receipts I have naturally supposed 
that the family consists of father, mother, and children of different 
ages, and not of six adults; for them the quantities given would, of 
course, be insufficient. I allow a meat dinner every day; but in order 
to have this the meat itself must generally be used one day, with bread 
or vegetables, and the next day the breakfast must be the broth or juice 
of the meat, which, if prepared according to my directions, will afford 
equal nourishment. 

I wish to call your attention to the following important fact. The 
hardy and thrifty working classes of France, the country where the 
most rigid economy in regard to food is practiced, never use tea or cof- 
fee for breakfast, and seldom use milk. Their food and drink is broth. 
Not the broth from fresh meat, for they do not often eat that; but that 
which is made from vegetables, and perhaps a bit of bacon or salt pork. 
I ask you to try for dinner, supper, and the next morning's breakfast, 
the three receipts in Chapter VI, for 44 Salt Pot-au-feu," * 4 Rice 
and Broth," and " Bread Broth;" and then let me know how you 
like them, and how far they go towards satisfying your hunger, and 
giving you strength. 

In calculating the cost of the receipts I give you, I have used the 
retail prices asked in Washington market, and in ordinary grocery 
stores, at this season of the year; the average is about the same as that 
of past years, and probably will not change much; so that I believe I 
have not placed too low an estimate upon them. 

With these words of explanation, I send my little book to do its 
work among those who most need its ministrations. 

JULIET CORSON. 

New York Cooking School. 
August, 1877. 



DAILY BILLS OF FARE FOR ONE WEEK. 



( Breakfast: Boiled Rice with Scalded Milk. . 15 1 

Monday 1 Dinner: Corned Beef and Cabbage 10 

( Supper: Peas boiled in Stock. , 10 ] 



35 



(Breakfast: Broth and Bread 10 j 

Tuesday ■] Dinner: Baked Beans 10 

( Supper: Macaroni with Cheese 12 J 



f Breakfast: Toasted Bread and Scalded Milk. 

Wednesday. 1 Dinner; Stewed Tripe 

( Supper: Polenta 



32 



33 



(Breakfast: Rice Panada 12] 

Thursday. . 1 Dinner: Salt Pot-au-feu 10 

( Supper: Lentils stewed in Stock 10] 



32 



Friday. 



Breakfast: Broth and Bread 10] 

Dinner: Mutton and Turnips 10 

Supper: Barley boiled in Broth . . . . , 10 ] 



30 



Saturday. 



Breakfast: Mutton Broth and Bread 10 j 

Dinner: Beef and Potatoes 10 

Supper: Beans boiled in Broth 10 J 



30 



Sunday. 



Breakfast: Cocoa and Bread 7 

Fried Lentils , 10 

Dinner: Bean Broth 10 

Haslet Stew 10 

Suet Roly-poly Pudding 12 

Supper: Cheese Pudding 12 



61 



Total. 



$2 53 



This leaves a balance of sixty-two (62) cents for extra breads 
milk, and butter. 



8 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Rides for Marketing, 

Page. 

How to choose the second quality of food — Beef — Mutton — 

Lamb — Veal— Pork— Poultry — Fish — Vegetables— Fruit . . 10 



CHAPTER II. 

How to Cook, Season, and Measure* 

Roasting or Baking — Broiling — Boiling and Stewing — Frying — 
Cooking Salt and Smoked Meats. — Seasoning food — Dried 
Celery and Parsley — Dried Herbs — Table Sauce — Celery 
Salt — Spice Salt — Lemon, Orange, and Vanilla Tinc- 
tures — Table for Measuring food 14 



CHAPTER IIL 
Drinks. 

Tea — Coffee— Cocoa — Beer — Barley Water — Milk 19 



CHAPTER IV. 

Breads Rice, and Macaroni, 

Homemade Bread — Rice Bread — Potato Bread — Rice — Rice 
Panada — ■ Boiled Rice — Macaroni — Macaroni, Farmers' 
style — Macaroni with Broth — Macaroni with White Sauce — 
Macaroni with Cheese 22 



CHAPTER V. 

Peas, Beans, Lentils, and Maize, 

Pea Soup — Thick Pea Soup — Oatmeal and Peas— Peas Pud- 
ding — Bean Soup — Baked Beans— Lentil Soup — Boiled 
Lentils — Stewed Lentils — Fried Lentils — Maize — Polenta- 
Cheese Pudding , 26 



9 

CHAPTER VI. 
Cheap Meat Dinners. 

Page. 

Salt Pot-au-feu— Rice and Broth — Bread Broth—Corned Beef 
and Peas — Fresh Beef and Potatoes — Mutton and Turnips — 
Haslet Stew — Stewed Tripe — Scotch Crowdie 30 

CHAPTER VII. 
Cheap Puddings, 

Suet Roly-poly — Molasses Roly-poly — Currant Roly-poly — 

Rice Pudding — Spotted Dick Pudding 32 

CHAPTER VIII. 
A Dollar Christmas Dinner. 

Plum Pudding — Roast Turkey — Baked Potatoes — Apple 

Sauce — Cream Sauce 33 




I© 



CHAPTER L 

Rules for Marketing, 

In my other cookery books I give directions for marketing for the 
the best cuts of meat, and the choicest vegetables; but these cost 
the most money, and I must tell you how to choose cheap and 
good food. 

Beef. — The second quality of beef has rather whitish fat, laid 
moderately thick upon the back, and about the kidneys ; the flesh 
is close-grained, having but few streaks of fat running through it, 
and is of a pale red color, and covered with a rough, yellowish skin. 
Poor beef is dark red, gristly, and tough to the touch, with a scanty 
layer of soft, oily fat. Buy meat as cheap as you can, but be sure it 
is fresh ; slow and long cooking will make tough meat tender, but 
tainted meat is only fit to throw away. Never use it. You would by 
doing so invite disease to enter the home where smiling health should 
reign. The best way to detect taint in any kind of meat is to run 
a sharp, thin knife-blade close to the bone, and then smell it to see 
if the odor is sweet. Wipe the knife after you use it. A small, sharp 
wooden skewer will answer, but it must be scraped every time it is 
used. If, when you are doubtful about a piece of meat, the butcher 
refuses to let you apply this test carefully enough to avoid injuring 
the meat, you will be safe in thinking he is afraid of the result. 

Mutton. — The flesh of the second quality of mutton is dark red 
and close-grained, with very few threads of fat running through 
it : the fat is rather soft, and is laid thin on the back and kidneys, 
closely adhering to them. The poorest healthy quality has very 
pale flesh, and thin white fat, and the meat parts easily from the 
bone. Diseased mutton has decidedly yellow fat, and very soft 
flesh, of loose texture. Tainted mutton smells bad ; test it as you 
would beef. 

Lamb. — A carcass of lamb should weigh about twenty-five 
pounds before it is old enough to be wholesome and nourishing food • 



1 1 



before it has reached that age it is watery and deficient in the ele- 
ments of strength ; at any age it is a more suitable food for women 
and children than for healthy men. The flesh of the second quality 
of lamb is soft, and rather red, compared with the pinkish- white meat 
of choice kinds ; the fat is more scanty, and the general appearance 
coarser. The poorest lamb has yellow fat, and lean, flabby, red 
meat, which keeps but a short time. Test the freshness of lamb by 
touching the kidney-fal ; if it is soft and moist the meat is on the 
verge of spoiling ; a bad smell indicates that it is already tainted ; 
it is utterly unfit for use. 

Veal. — The flesh of the second quality of veal is red in contrast 
with the pinkish -white color of the prime sort ; and the fat is whiter, 
coarser-grained, and less abundant. The poorest kind has decidedly 
red flesh, and very little kidney fat. The neck is the first part that 
taints, and it can easily be tested ; the loin is just spoiling when the 
kidney-fat begins to grow soft and clammy. 

Read this sentence about bob-veal carefully, and be sure to 
remember it. It is the flesh of calves killed when two or three 
weeks old, or that of "deaconed calves," which are killed 
almost as soon as they are born, for the value of their skins. This 
practice cannot be too harshly condemned as a criminal waste of 
food; for a stock raiser, or farmer, who knows his business can feed 
his calves until they reach a healthy maturity, without serio* \y inter- 
fering with his supply of milk. The flesh of bob-veal is a soft, flabby, 
sticky substance, of a ropy, gelatinous nature; and, being the first 
flesh, unchanged by the health-giving action of air and food, it is de- 
void of the elements necessary to transform it into wholesome food It 

SHOULD NEVER BE EATEN. 

Pork- — The second quality of pork has rather hard, red flesh, and 
yellowish fat. The poorest kind has dark, coarse grained meat, soft 
fat, and discoloured kidneys. The flesh of stale pork is moist and 
clammy, and its smell betrays its condition. Measly pork has little 
kernels in the fat, and is unhealtrr* and dangerous food. After test- 
ing, as you would beef, so as to see if it is fresh, and making sure that 
it is not measly, we have still to dread the presence of trichina, a 
dangerous parasite present in the flesh of some hogs. The surest pre- 
vention of danger from this cause is thorough cooking, which destroys 
any germs that may exist in the meat. Cook your pork until it is 



12 



crisp and brown, by a good, steady fire, or in boiling water, at least 
twenty minutes to each pound. Pork eaten in cold weather, or moder- 
ately in summer, alternately with other meats, is a palatable and nutri- 
tious food. It has a hard fibre, and needs to be thoroughly chewed in 
order to be perfectly digested; for that reason it should be sparingly 
used by the young and the very old. The least fat is found in the leg, 
which contains an excess of flesh-forming elements, and resembles lean 
beef in composition; the most fat is in the face and belly. When cur- 
ed as bacon it readily takes on the anti-septic action of salt and smoke, 
and becomes a valuable adjunct to vegetable food, as well as a pleas- 
ant relish; and in this shape it is one of the most important articles in 
general use. 

Poultry. — As a little feast is only a reasonable anticipation for 
Christmas, some rules for buying the different sorts, and a few simple 
receipts for cooking them palatably, will not come amiss. 

Fresh poultry may be known by its full bright eyes, pliable feet, 
and soft moist skin; the best is plump, fat, and nearly white, and the 
grain of the flesh is fine. The feet and neck of a young fowl are large 
in proportion to its size, and the tip of the breast-bone is soft, and easi- 
ly bent between the fingers; a young cock, has soft, loose spurs, 
and a long, full, bright red comb; old fowls have long, thin necks 
and feet, and the flesh on the legs and back has a purplish shade; 
chickens, and fowls, are always in season. 

Turkeys when good are white and plump, have full breasts and 
smooth legs, generally black, with soft loose spurs; hen turkeys are 
smaller, fatter, and plumper, but of inferior flavor; full grown turkeys 
are the best for boiling, as they do not tear in dressing; old turkeys 
have long hairs, and the flesh is purplish where it shows under the 
skin on the legs and back. About March they deteriorate in quality. 

Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent 
fat, soft breast-bone, tender flesh, leg joints which will break by the 
weight of the bird, fresh colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes that 
break when pressed between the thumb and forefinger. 1'hey are best 
in fall and winter. 

Young pigeons have light red flesh upon the breast, and full, fresh 
colored legs; when the legs are thin, and the breast is very dark, the 
birds are old. 



13 



The giblets of poultry consist of the head, neck, wings, feet, giz- 
zard, heart, and liver; and make good soups, fricassees, and pies. 

Fish. — Although fish contains more water and less solid nutriment 
than meat, it is generally useful from its abundance and cheapness; 
and certain kinds which are called red-blooded, such as salmon and 
sturgeon, are nearly as nourishing as fresh meat: oily fish, such as eels, 
mackerel, and herring, satisfy hunger as completely as meat; herring* 
especially, makes the people who eat it largely strong and sinewy* 
Sea fish are more nourishing than fresh water varieties. 

Sea fish, and those which live in both salt and fresh water, such 
as salmon, shad, and smelts, are the finest flavored ; the muddy taste 
of some fresh water species can be overcome by soaking them in cold 
water and salt for two hours or more before cooking ; all kinds are 
best just before spawning, the flesh becoming poor and watery after 
that period. Fresh fish have firm flesh, rigid fins, bright, clear eyes, 
and ruddy gills. 

Oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels, should be eaten very fresh, 
as they soon lose their flavor after being removed from the shell. 

Lobsters and crabs should be chosen by their brightness of color, 
lively movement, and great weight in proportion to their size ; you 
ought always to buy them alive, and put them head-first into a large 
pot of boiling water, containing a handful of salt ; they will cook in 
about twenty minutes. 

Vegetables. — In order to be healthy we must eat some fresh veget- 
ables ; they are cheap and nourishing, especially onions and cab- 
bages. Peas, beans, and lentils, all of which are among the lowest 
priced of foods, are invaluable in the diet of a laboring man : he can 
get so much nourishment out of them that he hardly needs meat ; and 
if they are cooked in the water which has been used for boiling meat, 
they make the healthiest kind of a meal. 

All juicy vegetables should be very fresh and crisp ; and if a little 
wilted, can be restored by being sprinkled with water and laid in a 
cool, dark place ; all roots and tubers should be pared and laid in 
cold water an hour or more before using. Green vegetables are best 
just before they flower ; and roots and tubers are prime from their 
ripening until they begin to sprout. 

When it is possible buy your vegetables by the quantity, from the 
farmers, or market-gardeners, or at the market ; you will save more 



14 



than half. Potatoes now cost at Washington Market from one to 
one dollar and a half a barrel ; there are three bushels in a barrel, 
and thirty-two quarts in a bushel ; now at the groceries you pay 
fifteen cents a half peck, or four cents a quart ; that makes your barrel 
of potatoes cost you three dollars and sixty-three cents, if you buy 
half a peck at a time ; or three dollars and eighty-four cents if you 
buy by the quart. So you see if you could buy a barrel at once you 
could save more than one half of your money. It is worth while to 
try and save enough to do it. 

Fmit. — Fresh fruit is a very important food, especially for chil- 
dren, as it keeps the blood pure, and the bowels regular. Next to 
grains and seeds, it contains the greatest amount of nutriment to a 
given quantity. Apples are more wholesome than any other fruit, 
and plentiful and cheap two-thirds of the time ; they nourish, cool, 
and strengthen the body. In Europe laborers depend largely upon 
them for nourishment, and, if they have plenty, they can do well 
without meat. They miss apples much more than potatoes, for they 
are much more substantial food. 

All fruit should be bought ripe and sound ; it is poor economy to 
buy imperfect or decayed kinds, as they are neither satisfactory nor 
healthy eating ; while the mature, full-flavored sorts are invaluable 
as food. 

Preserved and dried fruits are luxuries to be indulged in only at 
festivals, or holidays. Nuts are full of nutritious oil, but are generally 
hard to digest ; they do not come under the head of the necessities 
of life. 

CHAPTER II. 
How to Cook, Season, and Measure. 

Before beginning to give you receipts, I wish to tell you about the 
effect of cooking food in different ways. We all want it cooked so that 
we can eat it easily, and get the most strength from it, without wasting 
any part of it. I will tell you some very good reasons for making 
soup and stew out of your meat instead of cooking it in any other way. 

Boasting Or Baking* -™The first is the most extravagant way of 



15 



cooking meal, as it wastes nearly one third of its substance in drip- 
pings and steam; the second is also very wasteful, unless the meat is 
surrounded with vegetables, or covered with a flour paste. When you 
do bake meat without a covering of paste, put it into a hot oven at the 
start, to crisp the outside and to keep in the valuable juices; you can 
moderate the heat of the oven as soon as the meat is brown, and let it 
finish cooking slowly by the heat of the steam which is constantly 
forming inside of it. It generally takes twenty minutes to bake each 
pound of meat. 

Broiling. — This is another extravagant* way of cooking meat, for a 
great deal of the fat runs into the fire, and some nourishment escapes 
up the chimney with the steam. If you must broil meat, have your fire 
hot and clear, and your gridiron perfectly clean; and, unless it has a 
ledge to hold the drippings, tip it towards the back of the fire, so that 
the fat will burn there, and not blacken the meat as it would if the 
gridiron were laid flat, and the fat could burn under the meat. Never 
stick a fork into broiled meat to turn it; and do not cut it to see if it is 
done ; for if you do either you will let out the juice. Study the follow- 
ing table, and .n remember how near the time given in it comes to 
cooking accora.ng to your taste. Fish will broil in from five to ten 
minutes; birds and poultry in from three to fifteen minutes; chops in 
from ten to fifteen minutes, and steak in from ten to twenty minutes. 

Boilillg and Stewing. — Boiling food slowly, or stewing it gently, 
saves all its goodness. After the pot once boils you cannot make its con- 
tents cook any faster if you have fire enough under it to run a steam 
engine; so save your fuel, and add it to the fire, little by little, only 
enough at a time to keep the pot boiling. Remember, if you boil meat 
hard and fast it will be tough and tasteless, and most of its goodness 
will go up the chimney, or out of the window, with the steam. Boil 
the meat gently, and keep it covered close to save the steam; it will 
condense on the inside of the cover, and fall back in drops of moisture 
upon the meat. 

The following table shows how much is wasted in the different 
ways of cooking we have just spoken of. Four pounds of beef waste in 
boiling or stewing, about one pound of substance, but you have it all 
in the broth if you have kept the pot covered tightly; in baking one 
pound and a quarter is almost entirely lost unless you have plenty of 
vegetables in the dripping pan to absorb and preserve it; in roasting 



i6 

before the fire you lose nearly one pound and a half. Do not think you 
save the waste in the shape of drippings; it is poor economy to buy fat 
at the price of meat merely for the pleasure of trying it out, 

Prying. — This is a very good method of cooking fish, and of 
warming cold meat and vegetables. To fry well put into your fry- 
ing pan enough fat to cover what you mean to fry, and let it get 
smoking hot, but do not bum it ; then put in your food, and it will 
not soak fat, and will generally be done by the time it is nicely 
browned. To saute or half-fry any article, you should begin by 
putting in the pan enough fat to cover the bottom, and let it get 
smoking hot, but not burn, before you put in the food. This also is 
a good way to warm over meat, vegetables, oatmeal, or pudding. 

A very good way to cook meat and vegetables together is to put 
them in an earthen jar, cover it tightly, and cement the cover on with 
flour paste ; then bake for about four hours. 

If you are going to use a piece of meat cold do not cut it until it 
cools, and it will be more juicy. If the meat is salt let it cool in its 
own pot liquor, for the same reason. 

Salt and Smoked Meats. — These meats are best when they are 
put over the fire in cold water, brought gradually to a boil, and then 
set back from the fierce heat of the fire, so as to keep scalding hot 
WITHOUT BOILING ; they take longer to cook this way, but they are 
tender and delicious, and very little fat is wasted. 

Seasoning Food. — Many people have the idea that a finely flavored 
dish must cost a great deal ; that is a mistake ; if you have untainted 
meat, or sound vegetables, or even Indian meal, to begin with, you 
can make it delicious with proper seasoning. One reason why French 
cooking is so much nicer than any other is that it is seasoned with a 
great variety of herbs and spices ; these cost very little ; if you would 
buy a few cents' worth at a time you would soon have a good 
assortment. The best kinds are Sage, Thyme, Sweet Marjoram, 
Tarragon, Mint, Sweet Basil, Parsley, Bay-leaves, Cloves, Mace, 
Celery-seed, and Onions. If you will plant the seed of any of the 
seven first mentioned in little boxes on your window sill, or in a sunny 
spot in the yard, you can generally raise all you need. Gather and 
dry them as follows ; parsley and tarragon, should be dried in June 
and July, just before flowering ; mint in June and July ; thyme, 
marjoram and savory in July and August ; basil and sage in August 



*7 



and September ; all herbs should be gathered in the sun-shine, and 
dried by artificial heat ; their flavor is best preserved by keeping them 
in air-tight tin cans, or in tightly corked glass bottles. 

Dried Celery and Parsley. — if you ever use celery, wash the 

leaves, stalks, roots and trimmings, and put them in a cool oven to 
dry thoroughly ; then grate the root, and rub the leaves and stalks 
through a seive, and put all into a tightly corked bottle, or tin can 
with close cover ; this makes a most delicious seasoning for soups, 
stews, and stuffing. When you use parsley, save every bit of leaf, 
stalk, or root, you do not need, and treat them in the same way as the 
celery. Remember in using parsley that the root has even a stronger 
flavor than the leaves, and do not waste a bit. 

Dried Herbs. — When you buy a bunch of dried herbs rub the 
leaves through a seive, and bottle them tightly until you need them ; 
tie the stalks together and save them until you want to make what the 
French call a bouquet , for a soup or stew. A bouquet of herbs is made 
by tying together a few sprigs of parsley, thyme and two bay-leaves. 
The bay-leaves, which have the flavor of laurel, can be bought at any 
German grocery, or drug-store, enough to last for a long time for 
five cents. 

Table SaUC6. — There is no reason why you should not sometimes 
have a nice relish for cold meat when you can make a pint of it for 
six cents, so I will give a receipt for it. Get at Washington Market, 
at the herb stand, a bunch of Tarragon ; it will cost five cents in 
the summer, when it is green and strong, and not much more in the 
winter ; put it in an earthen bowl, and pour on it one pint of scalding 
hot vinegar ; cover it and let it stand until the next day ; then strain 
it, and put it into a bottle which you must cork tight. Either put 
more hot vinegar on the tarragon, or dry it, and save it until you want 
to make more ; you can make a gallon of sauce from one bunch, only 
every time you use it you must let it stand a day longer. 

Celery Salt. — If y° u mix celery root, which has been dried and 
grated as above, with one fourth its quantity of salt, it makes a nice 
seasoning and keeps a long time. 

Spice Salt. — You can make this very nicely by drying, powdering 
and mixing by repeated siftings the following ingredients : one quarter 
of an ounce each of powdered thyme, bay -leaf, and pepper ; one 
eighth of an ounce each of marjoram and cayenne pepper, one half 



i8 



of an ounce each of powdered clove and nutmeg ; to every four ounces 
of this powder add one ounce of salt, and keep the mixture in an air- 
tight vessel. One ounce of it added to three pounds of stuffing, or 
forcemeat of any kind, makes a delicious seasoning. 

Lemon and Orange Tincture. — Never throw away lemon or orange 
peel; cut the yellow outside off carefully, and put it into a tightly 
corked bottle with enough alcohol to cover it. Let it stand until the 
alcohol is a bright yellow, then pour it off, bottle it tight, and use it 
for flavoring when you make rice pudding. Add lemon and alcohol as 
often as you have it, and you will always have a nice flavoring. 

Vanilla Tincture. —Make this from a broken Vanilla Bean, just as 
you would make Lemon Tincture. When you make a plain rice pud- 
ding, and when you boil rice with sweetening, put a teaspoonful of 
either of these tinctures with it, and it will be very good. 

Measuring. — Be careful about measuring. Do not think you can 
guess just right every time; you cannot do it. One day the dinner 
will be a great deal better than another, and you will wonder why; 
it will be because it is carefully seasoned and properly cooked. A 
good rule for seasoning soups and stews, is half an ounce, or a level 
tablespoonful of salt, and half a level teaspoonful of pepper to each 
quart of water; try it, if it is right you will know how much to use; if 
it is not right, alter it to to suit your taste ; but settle the point for 
once, and then you will know what to depend upon. The following 
table will give you some good hints about measuring; there are four 
teaspoonfuls in one tablespoon; one tablespoonful in one ounce; two 
ounces in one wineglassful; two wineglassfuls in one gill; two gills in 
one good sized cupful; two cupfulsin one pint; two pints in one quart. 
One quart of sifted flour, thrown into the measure, and shaken down, 
but not pressed, weighs one pound; one quart of Indian corn meal, 
shaken down in the measure weighs one pound and three ounces ; one 
quart of fine sugar weighs one pound and a half. 



19 



CHAPTER III. 
Drinks. 

J eai — The habit of drinking tea is so general that the poorest often 
go without more nourishing food to save money enongh to buy an 
ounce. It is a pleasant drink because it warms and exhilarates; but it 
is a luxury because it does not give strength; and therefore it is extrav- 
agant to use it when we are pinched for healthy food. If, however, 
we think only of our feelings and not of our general health, there is 
this use in tea drinking: it keeps us from getting hungry as soon as 
we would without it. The sensation of hunger is nature's sure sign 
that the body needs a new supply of food, because the last has given 
us all its goodness; the change of the nourishing qualities of food 
into strength is always going on as long as any remains in the system; 
now, the use of tea hinders this change, and for that reason we are not 
so hungry when we use it, as when we do without it. 

Coffe© has nearly the same effect as tea. 

Cocoa makes a wholesome and nourishing drink. Let us count 
the cost of these beverages, and see which is the best for us. 

One quart of weak tea can be made from three teaspoonfuls, or half 
an ounce, of tea, (which costs at least one cent;) we must have for gen- 
eral use a gill of milk, (at one cent,) and four teaspoonfuls or one ounce 
of sugar, (at one cent) ; thus if we use only the above quantities of 
milk and sugar, one quart of tea costs three cents; if we increase them 
it will cost more. 

One quart of weak coffee can be made from one ounce, or two table- 
spoonfuls of coffee, (at a cost of two cents;) two tablespoonfuls or two 
ounces of sugar, (two cents,) and a half a pint of milk, (two cents;) the 
total cost six cents, v ; 

One quart of cocoa can be made from two ounces, or eight table- 
spoonfuls of cocoa shells, (which cost two cents,) with half a pint of 
milk, and an ounce of sugar, (at four cents more;) we have a quart of 
good, nutritious drink at six cents. It is all the better if the shells are 



20 



boiled two or three hours. Cocoa nibs, or the cocoa beans just 
crushed, are more expensive than the shells, but they are also more 
nutritious. 

Beer. — Very poor families sometimes spend every day for beer 
enough to buy them a good, wholesome meal, because they think it 
makes them strong. Beer, like all other liquors, is of no value whatever 
in making strength; it only nerves you up to spend all you can muster 
under the excitement it causes, and then leaves you weaker than be* 
fore. What you need when you crave liquor is a good, warm meal. 
The best doctors say that a man cannot drink more than about a pint 
and a half of beer a day without injuring his health; and that healthy 
people, during youth and middle age, do not need it at all. Let it, 
and all other liquors, alone entirely, and you will be better off in health 
and purse. 

Beer for Nursing Women. — It is generally believed that women 
who drink malt liquor are able to nurse children to greater advantage 
than those who do not use it. The fact is that while the quantity of 
milk may be increased, its nourishing quality will be impaired. There 
may be more milk for the child, but it will be poor. The effect of 
all malt liquor is to promote the secretion of the fluids of the body, but 
not to enrich them. Do not drink beer for the sake of your child, but 
try milk, or milk and water instead, and see if after a fair trial you do 
not have plenty for the baby, and if it does not grow strong and fat. 
If milk does not agree with you, or you cannot afford it, use barley 
water; it will not only give you plenty of milk, but it will nourish you 
as well as the baby. You will get from it all the nourishment that 
you may fancy you get from malt liquor, with this advantage: in the 
barley w^ater you will get all the nutriment of the grain unchanged, 
while in the form of beer the fermentation has destroyed part of it. 
The following is a good receipt. 

Barley Water. — Thoroughly wash two ounces of pearl barley, 
(which costs less than two cents,) to remove any musty or bad flavor, 
put it over the fire in two quarts of cold water, and boil it until it is re- 
duced to one quart; then strain it, cool it, and drink it whenever you 
are thirsty. A little sugar can be used without hurting the baby. 

Milk, — I have already said that milk is the most perfect food; we 
will now see what it is made of, and how it nourishes the body ; and 
then we can understand how necessary it is to have it pure. The ele* 



21 



ments of milk which strengthen the whole body aire the solid parts 
that separate in the form of curd when it begins to turn sour; the whey 
contains the salts and phosphates which strengthen the brain, bones, 
and digestive organs ; the cream is the part which makes us fat. When we 
remember that cheese is made from the curd of milk we can see why 
it is so valuable as food, and why a meal of black or brown bread and 
cheese will satisfy a hungry man. 

Try to afford at least a quart of good milk every day. It can be 
bought in New York now for seven or eight cents a quart ; and if the 
children have plenty of seconds bread, or oatmeal porridge, and a cup 
of milk, at meal times, they will be strong and rosy. 

Skim -milk, butter-milk, and whey, are all excellent foods, and far 
better drinks than beer or whiskey. Make a plain pudding now and 
then, with skim-milk, adding an ounce of suet to restore its richness. 
If the milk has turned a little sour add lime water to it, in the propor- 
tion of four tablespoonfuls of the lime water to a quart. If the lime 
water is added before the milk begins to turn it will help keep it fresh. 
The following is a good receipt for making lime water. 

Lim© Water. — Slake four ounces of quick lime with a little water, 
and gradually add enough water to make a gallon in all ; let it stand 
three hours, then bottle it in glass-stoppered bottles, putting a portion 
of the undissolved lime in each bottle ; when you want to use some, 
pour off the clear liquid from the top. 

Children should never have tea, coffee, or liquor ; all these drinks 
hurt them ; give them milk, or milk and water ; or pure water, if you 
cannot afford milk. But you had better scant their clothes than their 
supply of milk. If you have to limit the supply of food, deny them 
something else, but give them plenty of bread and scalded milk, and 
you can keep them healthy. 



22 



CHAPTER IV. 

Bread, Rice, and Macaroni. 

Homemade-bread is healthier, satisfies hunger better, and is 
cheaper than baker's bread. Make bread yourself if you possibly can. 
Use 6 ' middlings, " if you can get them ; they contain the best 
elements of wheat. " Household Flour " has similar qualities, but is 
sometimes made from inferior kinds of wheat. Both are darker and 
cheaper than fine white flour ; and bread made from them takes 
longer to "rise" than that made from fine flour. Baker's bread is 
generally made from poor flour mixed with a little of the better sort ; 
or with a little alum, which added to the wheat grown in wet seasons, 
keeps the bread from being pasty and poor in taste. 

Buy new flour if you can get it ; it takes up more water than old ; 
and yields a larger amount of bread ; if you do not have a good oven 
the bread can be baked at the baker's for about a cent a loaf. 

When bread is made too light it is tasteless, and lacks nourish- 
ment , because the decay caused in the elements of the flour used to 
make it by the great quantity of yeast employed, destroys the most 
nutritious parts of it. 

A pint of milk in a batch of four loaves of bread gives you a 
pound more bread of better quality, and helps to keep it moist. 
Scalded skim milk will go as far as fresh whole milk, and you can 
use the cream for some other dish* 

One pound of pea-meal, or ground split-peas, added to every 
fourteen pounds of flour used for bread increases its nourishment, and 
helps to satisfy hunger. 

Keep your bread in a covered earthen jar ; when it is too stale to 
eat, or make into bread broth, dry it in a cool oven, or over the top 
of the fire, roll it with a rolling-pin, sift it through a seive, and save 
the finest crumbs to roll fish or chops in for frying, and the largest for 
puddings. If a whole loaf is stale put it into a tight tin can, and 
either steam it, or put it into a moderately warm oven for half an 



2 5 



hour ; it will then be as. good as fresh bread to the taste, and a great 
deal more healthy. 

A good allowance of bread each day is as follows ; for a man two 
pounds, costing six cents ; for boys and women one pound and a half, 
costing five cents ; for children half a pound each, costing three 
cents. 

Homomado Broad.— Put seven pounds of flour into a deep pan, 
and make a hollow in the centre ; into this put one quart of luke- 
warm water, one tablespoonful of salc f one teaspoonful of sugar, and 
half a gill of yeast ; have ready three pints more of warm water, and 
use as much of it as is necessary to make a rather soft dough, mixing 
and kneading it well with both hands. When it is smooth and 
shining strew a little flour upon it, lay a large towel over it folded, 
and set it in a warm place by the fire for four or five hours to rise ; 
then knead it again for fifteen minutes, cover it with the towel, and 
set it to rise once more ; then divide it into two or four loaves, and 
bake it in a quick oven. This quantity of flour will make eight 
pounds of bread, and will require one hour's baking to two pounds of 
dough. It will cost about thirty cents, and will last about two days 
and a half for a family of six. In cold weather, the dough should be 
mixed in a warm room, and not allowed to cool while rising ; if it 
does not rise well, set the pan containing it over a large vessel of boil- 
ing water ; it is best to mix the bread at night, and let it rise till 
morning, in a warm and even temperature. 

J/ElCe Bread. — Simmer one pound of rice in three quarts of water 
until the rice is soft, and the water evaporated or absorbed ; let it cool 
until it is only luke-warm ; mix into it nearly four pounds of flour, 
two teaspoonfuls of salt, and four tablespoonfuls of yeast ; knead it 
until it is smooth and shining, let it rise before the fire, make it up 
into loaves with the little flour reserved from the four pounds, and 
bake it thoroughly. It will cost about twenty -five cents, and make 
more than eight pounds of excellent bread. 

Potato Bread. — Take good, mealy boiled potatoes, in the propor- 
tion of one-third of the quantity of flour you propose to use, pass them 
through a coarse sieve into the flour, using a wooden spoon and 
adding enough cold water to enable you to pass them through readily; 
use the proper quantity of yeast, salt, and water, and make up the 
bread in the usual way. It will cost about twenty-four cents, if you 



24 



use the above quantities, and give you eight pounds or more of good 
bread. 

Rice.— Rice is largely composed pf starch, and for that reason is 
less nutritious than flour, oatmeal, Indian meal, or macaroni ; but it is 
a wholesome and economical food when used with a little meat -broth, 
drippings or molasses. It is a very safe food for children, especially 
if used with a little molasses. The following is an excellent supper 
dish. 

Rio© Panada* — Boil half a pound of rice, (which costs five cents, ) 
quarter of a pound of suet, (at two cents,) with one tablespoonful of 
salt, and one of sugar, (cost one cent,) fast in boiling water for fifteen 
minutes; meantime mix half a pound of flour, (cost two cents,) 
gradually with one quart of water, and one gill of molasses, (cost two 
cents ;) stir this into the boiling rice, and boil it for about five 
minutes ; this makes a nice supper of over five pounds of good, nutri- 
tious food for twelve cents. 

Boiled Rice* — Another good dish of rice for supper can be made as 
follows. Wash half a pound of rice (cost five cents,) throw it into one 
quart of boiling water, containing two teaspoonfuls of salt, and boil it 
fast ten minutes ; drain it in a colander, saving the water to use with 
broth next day ; meantime just grease the pot with sweet drippings, 
put the rice back in it, cover it, and set it on a brick on the top of the 
stove, or in a cool oven, and let it stand ten minutes to swell ; be 
careful not to burn it. The addition of a very little butter, sugar, 
molasses, nutmeg, lemon juice, or salt and pepper, will give it 
different flavors : so that you can vary the taste, and have it often 
without getting tired of it, and it need never cost you over seven cents. 

Macaroni.— This is a paste made from the purest wheat flour and 
water; it is generally known as a rather luxurious dish among the 
wealthy; but it should become one of the chief foods of the people, 
for it contains more gluten, or the nutritious portion of wheat, than 
bread. It is one of the most wholesome and economical of foods, and 
can be varied so as to give a succession of palatable dishes at a very 
small cost. The imported macaroni can be bought at Italian stores 
for about fifteen cents a pound; and that quantity when boiled yields 
nearly four times its bulk, if it has been manufactured for any length 
of time. Good macaroni is yellow or brownish in color; white sorts 
are always poor. It should never be soaked or washed before boil? 



ing, or put into cold or lukewarm water; wipe it carefully, break it in 
whatever lengths you want it, and put it into plenty of boiling water, 
to every quart of which half a tablespoonful of salt is added; you can 
boil an onion with it if you like the flavor; as soon as it is tender 
enough to yield easily when pressed between the fingers, drain it in a 
colander, saving its liquor for the next day's broth, and lay it in cold 
water until you want to use it. When more macaroni has been boiled 
than is used it can be kept perfectly good by laying it in fresh water, 
which must be changed every day. After boiling the macaroni as 
above, you can use it according to any of the following directions. 
Half a pound of uncooked macaroni will make a large dishful. 

KacarOlli, Fanners' Style- — Boil half a pound of macaroni as 
above, and while you are draining it from the cold water, stir together 
over the fire one ounce each of butter and flour, as soon as they bubble 
gradually pour into the sauce they make, a pint of boiling water, beat- 
ing it with a fork or egg-whip until it is smooth; season it with a level 
teaspoonful of salt and a level saltspoonful of pepper, and put the mac- 
aroni in it to heat; then cut an onion in small shreds, and brown it 
over the fire in a very little fat; when both are done dish the macaroni, 
and pour the onion out of the frying pan upon it. It is excellent; and 
ten cents will cover the cost of all of it. 

Macaroni With. Broth. — Put half a pound of macaroni, boiled as 
above, and washed in cold water, over the fire with any kind of broth, 
or one pint of cold gravy and water; season it to taste with pepper and 
salt, and let it heat slowly for an hour, or less if you are in a hurry; 
then lay it on a flat dish, strew over it a few bread crumbs, which you 
will almost always have on hand if you save all the bits I speak of in 
the article on bread; then set the dish in the oven, or in front of the 
fire to brown , It will cost less than ten cents, and be delicious and 
very hearty. 

Macaroni With. White Sauce.— Warm half a pound of macaroni, 
boiled and washed in cold water, as above, in the following sauce, and 
use it as soon as it is hot. Stir together over the fire one ounce each 
of butter and flour, pouring in one pint of boiling water and milk, as 
soon as the butter and flour are mixed; season it with salt and pepper 
to taste, and put the macaroni into it. This dish costs less than ten 
cents, and is very good and wholesome. 

Macaroni With Cheese,— Boil half a pound of macaroni* as above, 



put it into a pudding dish in layers with quarter of a pound of cheese, 
(cost four cents,) grated and mixed between the layers; season it with 
pepper and salt to taste ; put a very little buttter and some bread 
crumbs over it, and brown it in the oven. It will make just as hearty 
and strengthening a meal as meat, and will cost about twelve cents. 



CHAPTER V. 
Peas, Beans, Lentils, and Maize. 

Before giving you receipts for cooking peas, beans, and lentils, 1 
Want to show you how important they are as foods. I have already 
spoken of the heat and flesh forming properties of food as the test of 
its usefulness ; try to understand that a laboring man needs twelve 
ounces and a half of heat food, and half an ounce of flesh-food every 
day to keep him healthy. One pound, or one and a quarter pints of 
dried peas, beans, or lentils, contains nearly six ounces of heat food, 
and half an ounce of flesh food ; that is, nearly as much heat-food, 
and more than twice as much flesh food as wheat. A little fat, salt 
meat, or suet, cooked with them, to bring up their amount of heat food 
to the right point, makes either of them the best and most strengthen- 
ing food a workingman can have. The only objection to their 
frequent use is the fact that their skins are sometimes hard to 
digest ; but if you make them into soup, or pudding, rubbing 
them through a seive after they are partly cooked, you will be safe 
from any danger. 

Pea Soup. — Use half a pint, or seven ounces of dried peas, (cost 
three cents,) for every two quarts of soup you want. Put them in 
three quarts of cold water, after washing them well ; bring them 
slowly to a boil ; add a bone, or bit of ham, if you have it to spare, 
one turnip, and one carrot peeled, one onion stuck with three cloves, 
(cost three cents,) and simmer three hours, stirring occasionally to 
prevent burning ; then pass the soup through a sieve with the aid of a 
potato masher and if it shows any sign of settling stir into it one 
tablespoonful each of butter and flour mixed together dry, (cost two 
cents,) this will prevent settling ; meantime fry some dice of stale 



bread, about two slice-s, cut half an inch square, in hot fat, drain them 
on a sieve, and put them in the bottom of the soup tureen in which the 
pea soup is served ; or cut some bits of very hard stale bread, or dry- 
toast, to use instead of the fried bread. By the time the soup is done 
it will have boiled down to two quarts, and will be very thick and 
good. This receipt will cost you about ten cents. 

Thick Pea Soup.-^— Fry one sliced onion, (cost half a cent,) in one 
ounce of suet or drippings, (cost half a cent,) using an iron pot to fry 
it in ; as soon as it is brown put into the same pot, three quarts of cold 
water, one pint, or fourteen ounces of well washed peas, (cost five 
cents,) and boil as above ; this quantity of peas does not need any 
crusts in the soup ; it will be thick enough ; but bread may be eaten 
with it, if you want it. This soup costs six cents. 

Oatmeal aild Peas. — Cut quarter of a pound of fat pork or bacon, 
(cost four cents,) into pieces half an inch square ; put in the bottom of 
a pot with two sliced onions, (cost one cent,) ancf fry ten minutes with- 
out burning ; season with two teaspoonfuls of salt, one of sugar, and 
one saltspoonful of pepper ; (cost of seasoning one cent ;) then add 
three quarts of cold water, and one pint of peas, (cost five cents,) and 
boil the whole gently until the peas become quite soft ; then stir in 
enough oatmeal to thicken, about a quarter of a pound, (cost two 
cents or less ;) simmer for twenty minutes, and then eat hot. It is the 
healthiest kind of a meal, and costs thirteen cents, or less. 

Peas-Pudding. — Soak one pint of dried peas, (cost five cents,) in 
cold water over night ; tie them loosely in a clean cloth, and boil 
them about two hours in pot-liquor or water, putting them into it cold 
and bringing them gradually to a boil; drain them, pass them through 
a sieve with a wooden spoon, season them with a level tablespoonful 
of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, one ounce of butter, and one egg, 
(all of which will cost five cents,) mix, tie in a clean cloth, and boil 
half an hour longer ; then turn it from the cloth, on a dish, and 
serve hot. This receipt makes a good large pudding for ten cents ; 
or you can leave out the egg and it will cost less. 

Bean Soup. — For this, use the receipt for pea-soup, using beans 
instead of peas ; the cost will be about the same. 

Baked Beans. — Put one pint of dried beans, (cost six cents,) and 
quarter of a pound of salt pork, (cost four cents,) into two quarts of 
cold water ; bring them to a boil, and boil them slowly for about 



twenty minutes; then put the beans, with about a teacupful of the 
water they wercboiled in, into an open jar, season them with salt and 
pepper to taste, and one tablespoonful of molasses, (cost of seasoning 
one cent,) lay the pork on the top, and bake two hours, or longer. 
The dish will cost about ten cents, and is palatable and nutritious. 
The liquor in which the beans were boiled should be saved, and used 
the next morning as broth, with seasoning and a little fried or toasted 
bread in it. 

Lentils. — Lentils have been used for food in older countries for a 
long time, and it is quite necessary that we should become acquainted 
with their merits if we want to save ; I give a lentil soup, and some 
excellent directions for cooking this invaluable food. One quart of 
lentils when cooked will make four pounds of hearty food. There are 
two varieties in market; the small flat brown seed, called lentils a la 
reine ; and a larger kind, about the size of peas, and of a greenish 
color ; both sorts are equally well flavored and nutritious; they cost 
ten cents a pound, and can be bought at general groceries. The seed 
of the lentil tare, commonly cultivated in France and Germany as an 
article of food, ranks nearly as high as meat as a valuable food, being 
capable of sustaining life and vigor for a longtime; this vegetable is 
gradually becoming known in this country, from the use of it by our 
French and German citizens; and from its nutritive value it deserves to 
rank as high as our favorite New England beans. 

Lentil Soup. — For two quarts of soup half a pint of yellow lentils, 
(cost five cents,) washed, and put to boil in three pints of cold water, 
with one cent's worth of soup greens, and boiled gently until the lentils 
are soft enough to break between the fingers; every lialf hour a gill of 
cold water should be added, and the lentils again raised to the boiling 
point, until they are done ; they should then be passed through a sieve 
with a wooden spoon, using enough of the liquor to make them pass 
easy, and mixed with the rest of the soup; it should be seasoned with 
salt and pepper, and is then ready to simmer for half an hour, and 
serve hot, with dice of fried bread half an inch square, like those used 
for pea soup, or with bits of stale bread. A plentiful dinner of lentil 
soup and bread costs only about ten cents. 

Lentils toiled plain. — Wash one pound, or one full pint of lentils 
(cost ten cents,) well in cold water, put them over the fire, in three 
quarts of cold water with one ounce of»drippings, one tablespoonful of 



2 9 



Salt, and a saltspoonful of pepper, (cost about one cent,) and boil slow- 
ly until tender, that is about three hours ; drain off the little water 
which remains, add to the lentils one ounce of butter, a tablespoonful 
of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little more salt and 
pepper if required, (cost about three cents,) and serve them hot. 
Always save the water in which they are boiled ; with the addition of 
a little thickening and seasoning, it makes a very nourishing soup. 

Stewed Lentils. — Put a pint of plain boiled lentils into a sauce -pan, 
cover them with any kind of pot-liquor, add one ounce of chopped 
onion, two ounces of drippings, quarter of an ounce of chopped pars- 
ley, and stew gently for twenty minutes; serve hot. This dish costs 
about ten cents. 

Fried Lentils. — Fry one ounce of chopped onion brown in two 
ounces of drippings, add one pint of plain boiled lentils, see if they are 
properly seasoned, and brown them well; serve hot. The dish costs 
about ten cents, and is very good, and as nutritious as meat. 

M&ise, Or Indian Com Meal. — This native product is a strong and 
nutritious food, and very economical ; in addition to the ordinary hasty- 
pudding, or mush, it can be cooked with a little pot-liquor, meat, or 
cheese, so as to be both good and wholesome. Below are two excell- 
ent receipts for cooking it. 

Polenta. — Boil one pound of yellow Indian meal, (cost four cents,) 
for half an hour, in two quarts of pot-liquor or boiling water, salted to 
taste, with one ounce of fat, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning; 
then bake it for half an hour in a greased baking dish, and serve it 
either hot, or, when cold, slice it and fry it in smoking hot fat. This 
favorite Italian dish is closely allied to the hasty-pudding of New Eng- 
land, and the mush of the South. It costs five cents. 

Cheese Pudding. — Into two quarts of boiling water, containing two 
tablespoonfuls of salt, stir one pound of yellow Indian meal, (cost four 
cents,) and a quarter of a pound of grated cheese, (cost four cents;) 
boil it for twenty minutes, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning; 
then put it in a greased baking pan, sprinkle over the top quarter of a 
pound of grated cheese, (cost four cents,) and brown in a quick oven. 
Serve hot. If any remains, slice it cold and fry it brown. It costs 
twelve cents. 



3° 



CHAPTER VI. 

Cheap Meat Dinners. 

Some of the receipts in this chapter combine several dishes from one 
source. By using the meat and vegetables for dinner, the rice, or pearl 
barley cooked in the pot-liquor for supper, and the pot-liquor itself, 
made into broth, for breakfast, you can often bring the cost of a day's 
meals below forty -five cents; and so save enough during the week to 
have a pudding for Sunday's dinner. The three following receipts are 
a good example of my meaning. 

Salt Pot-au-feu. — Put one and a half pounds of salt pork (cost eigh- 
teen cents,) in three quarts of cold water; bring it slowly to a boil, and 
skim it well; when it has boiled fifteen minutes, put in with it a two 
or three cent head of cabbage, cut in quarters and well washed, and 
boil both steadily for half an hour; new cabbage boils tender sooner 
than old, but you must not cook either after the stalks are tender, or 
you will waste a great deal of nourishment; when both meat and cab- 
bage are done, take up the meat with a fork, and the cabbage with a 
strainer, and use them for dinner. 

Sice and Broth. — After dinner carefully strain the pot-liquor, and 
put it in an earthen pot until an hour before supper. Then put it over 
the fire, and when it boils throw into it half a pound of well washed 
rice, (cost five cents,) and boil fast for twenty minutes, or until the rice 
is just tender; try the seasoning, and then pour both broth and rice into 
a strainer set over an earthen pot or bowl; as soon as the rice drains, 
shake it out into a dish, and use it for supper. 

Bread Broth.-^-After supper carefully strain the broth and keep it 
over night in an earthen pot. In the morning heat it ; if it is too salt 
add a little more water ; or season it more if necessary ; while it is 
heating toast two pounds of bread, (cost six cents,) cut it in small 
square pieces, and throw it into the broth. As soon as it is hot use it 
for breakfast. 

These three dishes will cost about thirty cents. Corned beef, fresh 



3> 



beef, and mutton, can be cooked in the same way, using cabbage with 
the corned beef, potatoes with the fresh beef, and turnips with the 
mutton ; for the supper dishes, peas, beans, and pearl barley ; with 
bread broth for breakfast. 

Thus you see you can make three good meals for four different 
days, for one dollar and twenty cents, leaving you a good margin for 
suitable food for young children, such as bread and milk, or oatmeal 
porridge ; or a nice Sunday dinner, if the children are well grown. 

Haslet Stew. — For this dish use a fresh pigs' or sheep's haslet, 
which costs about six cents. Wash the liver, heart, and lights, cut 
them in two inch pieces, put them into a sauce-pan with one ounce of 
salt pork sliced, (cost one cent,) an onion chopped, one dessert spoonful 
of salt, and half a saltspoonful of black pepper ; two bay leaves, two 
sprigs of parsley and one of thyme, tied in a bouquet, (cost of season- 
ing one cent.) one ounce of flour, one gill of vinegar, half a pint of 
cold gravy or cold water, and six potatoes peeled and cut in dice ; 
(cost of all these about five cents ;) stew all these ingredients gently 
together for two hours, and serve as you would a stew, with a table - 
spoonful of chopped parsley sprinkled over the top, and bread to eat 
with it, It will give you a good dinner for about fifteen cents. 

Stewed Tripe. — Cut in small pieces one pound of tripe, (cost eight 
cents,) half a quart each of potatoes and onions, (cost of both five 
cents,) and put them in layers in a pot, seasoning them with one table- 
spoonful of salt, and one level teaspoonful of pepper ; mix quarter of 
a pound of flour with water, gradually using three pints of water, and 
pour it over the stew ; (the flour and seasoning will cost two cents ;) 
put the pot over the fire and boil it gently for an hour and a half. 
It costs about fifteen cents, and furnishes a good nutritious meal, the 
onions and flour making up any lack of nourishment in the tripe and 
potatoes. 

Scotch CrQWdie. — Boil one pound of oatmeal one hour in four 
quarts of any kind of pot-liquor, stirring often enough to prevent 
burning; season with one tablespoonful of salt, a level saltspoonful of 
pepper, one ounce of butter, and serve with plenty of bread. It will 
give you a good meal for about ten cents. 



3* 



CHAPTER VII. 

Cheap and nutritious Puddings. 

I HAVE already told you that in writing this book for you I 
should treat only of cheap and nourishing foods; so do not look for 
any directions to make pies and cakes. They are the bane of Ameri- 
can cookery; they are expensive and unhealthy. On the other hand, 
a good pudding made of flour, suet, and fruit, or molasses, will often 
take the place of a piece-of meat, and give quite as much satisfaction 
to hunger. I can safely recommend any of the following, for I have 
cooked and eaten some of every kind. 

Suet Boly-poly. — Sift together one pound of flour, two teaspoon- 
fuls of salt, and one teaspoonful of baking powder, (cost about five 
cents,) rub into them two ounces of sweet drippings, (cost one cent;) 
mix with two gills of milk, or one egg, and two gills of water, (cost 
two cents,) or plain water; roll out half an inch thick, spread with 
quarter of a pound of chopped suet, (cost two cents,) one teaspoonful 
of salt, a little spice or nutmeg, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar, (cost 
two cents ;) roll it up, tie it tightly in a well floured cloth, and boil 
steadily for two hours in a large covered pot, half full of water. Use 
a little molasses, or sugar with it, if it is not sweet enough. It is very 
good, and costs only about twelve cents. 

Molasses Eoly-poly.— Make up the same as suet roly-poly, using 
half a pint of molasses instead of suet; the cost will be about the 
same. 

Currant Eoly-poly. —Make up the same as suet roly-poly, using 
quarter of a pound of washed and dried currants with the suet; the 
cost will be about fifteen cents. 

Rice Pudding. — Put in an earthen pudding dish quarter of a pound 
of well washed rice, (cost three cents,) three pints of milk, (cost twelve 
cents,) four ounces of sugar, (cost three cents,) and a little spice, or 
flavoring; bake it in a moderate oven about an hour and a half. It 
costs about eighteen cents. 



33 



Spotted Dick Pudding. — This pudding is based upon one of Sog- 
er's receipts, which I like very much. Mix together six ounces of 
flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two of baking powder, and one of cinna- 
mon, (cost of all these about two cents;) add four ounces of chopped 
suet, (cost two cents,) four ounces of sugar, (cost three cents,) four 
ounces of well washed currants, (cost four cents;) mix to a stiff batter 
with either half a pint of milk, or half a pint of water, and one egg, 
(cost of either two cents.) Put the pudding into a greased and floured 
mould, or tin pail, and steam it about three hours. Use sugar or mo- 
lasses with it, if it is not sweet enough. It is very good, and costs 
about fifteen cents, including last item. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A Dollar Christmas Dinner. 

In buying poultry for Christmas-tide I have found that it is better 
to market at least three days before that holiday. The prices are very 
much lower, and the weather is generally cold enough for you to keep 
your bird fresh until you want to use it. In estimating the cost of 
this dinner I shall suppose that you buy your turkey in advance at a 
shilling a pound, instead of waiting till Christmas eve, and paying at 
least twenty cents for it. If you are obliged to wait you must add the 
difference in price to my figures. The following is our bill of fare: 
Roast Turkey, 

Baked Potatoes, 

Apple Sauce, 
Plum Pudding with Cream Sauce. 
Begin your preparations by making your pudding as follows: — 
Plum Pudding. — Mix well together, half a pound of flour, (cost two 
cents,) four ounces of raisins, stoned and chopped, (cost four cents,) 
four ounces of currants, well washed, (cost four cents,) four ounces of 
chopped suet, (cost two cents,) three tablespoonfuls of molasses, one 
teaspoonful of ground spice, (cost one cent,) and one gill of cold 
water; put in a floured cloth, or a greased and floured mould, or tin 
pail, and steam until yon are ready to put it on the table. It will cost 
you thirteen cents. 



34 



Next peel one quart of potatoes, and lay them in cold water while 
you get the turkey ready. 

Boast Turkey.— Draw a Ave pound turkey, (cost five shillings,) 
carefully enough not to break the entrails, so that you will not have to 
spoil its flavor by washing it; singe it, and wipe it with a clean, damp 
cloth, stuff it with about a pound of stale bread, seasoned with salt, 
pepper and herbs, (cost about three cents,) sew it up, tie it in shape, 
lay it in a baking pan with one quart of peeled potatoes, (cost five 
cents,) and put it into a hot oven; as soon as it begins to brown nicely, 
take it out, season it with pepper and salt, baste it with the drippings 
from it; and put it back in the oven; baste it every fifteen minutes 
until it is done, which will be in about an hour and a quarter. Then 
put it on a dish, with the potatoes around it, and set it in the mouth 
of the oven to keep it hot while you make the gravy; do this by pour- 
ing a pint of boiling water into the dripping pan, letting it come to a 
boil, and stirring into it a tablespoonful of flour mixed smoothly in 
half a teacupful of cold water; season it to taste with salt and pepper^ 
and dish in a bowL 

Appl© Sauce. — As soon as you get the turkey in the oven, make 
the apple sauce as follows. Pare, core, and slice two quarts, or five 
cents' worth of cooking apples, put them over the fire with a half cup 
of water, and stew then\ until soft: then stir in four ounces of sugar, 
{cost three cents,) and one ounce of butter, (cost two cents,) and cool 
it, or keep it warm, as you like. It will cost ten cents. Next make 
the pudding sauce. 

Creaia Sauce. — Stir together over the fire one ounce of butter, one 
ounce of flour, and a little spice, (all of which will cost about two 
cents ;) put a little milk into a pint of boiling water, and stir it grad- 
ually in the flour and butter; when it is quite smooth stir in two 
ounces of sugar, (cost two cents,) and let it boil up once; then set the 
sauce-pan you have made it in into another containing a little hot 
water, so as to keep the sauce hot until you want it, without thicken- 
ing or burning it. It wil) cost about five cents, and be good enough 
for the nicest of plum puddings. 

After you have done with the sauce the rest of the dinner will 
probably be nearly cooked, and you can get it ready for the table. 

And after you have eaten it, think if I have kept my promise to tell 
jrou how to get comfortable meals at low prices. 



35 



INDEX OF PRICES. 

CENTS. PAGE. 

Apple Sauce 10 34 

Baked Beans 10 27 

Baked Potatoes 05 34 

Barley and Broth, average cost 10 31 

Barley Water, per qt 02 20 

Beans and Broth, average cost , 10 31 

Bean Soup 10 27 

Beef and Potatoes, average cost 10 31 

Boiled Rice 07 24 

Bread and Broth, average cost 10 30 

Bread, per eight pounds 30 23 

Broths for breakfast and supper, average cost 10 31 

Cheese Pudding 12 29 

Christmas Dinner 1 00 33 

Cocoa, per qt c6 19 

Coffee, per qt 06 19 

Corned Beef and Cabbage, average cost 10 31 

Cream Sauce 05 34 

Currant Roly-poly Pudding 15 32 

Haslet Stew 15 31 

Homemade bread, per eight pounds 30 23 

Lentils, boiled 10 28 

Lentils, fried 10 29 

Lentil Soup 10 28 

Lentils, stewed 10 29 



36 

CENTS. PAGE. 

Macaroni, Farmers' style 10 25 

Macaroni with Broth 10 25 

Macaroni with Cheese 12 25 

Macaroni with White Sauce 10 25 

Meat Dinners, average cost 10 30 

Molasses Roly-poly Pudding 12 32 

Mutton and Turnips, average cost 10 31 

Oatmeal and Peas 13 27 

Peas and Broth 10 31 

Peas Pudding 10 27 

Pea Soup 10 26 

Plum Pudding 13 33 

Polenta 05 29 

Potato Bread, per 8 lbs 24 23 

Puddings, average cost , , 12 32 

Rice and Broth, average cost . 10 30 

Rice Bread, per 8 lbs 24 23 

Rice Panada, per 5 lbs 12 24 

Rice Pudding 18 32 

Roast Turkey 65 34 

Salt Pot-au-feu, average cost 10 30 

Scotch Crowdie 10 31 

Spotted Dick Pudding 15 33 

Stewed Tripe . 15 31 

Suet Roly-poly Pudding 12 32 

Table sauce, per pint 06 17 

Tea, per qt 03 19 

Thick Pea Soup 06 27 

Turkey, Roast 65 34 



37 

"The Book For The Times. 



"how well can we live if we are moderately 
Poor?" 

The Housekeeper will find the answer to this ques- 
tion in 

MISS CORSON'S COOKING MANUAL OF PRACTICAL 
DIRECTIONS FOR ECONOMICAL COOKERY. 

1 8 mo, 144 pages, oil covers, 30 cents. 

The closely filled pages of this book contain as much 
matter as is often found in books of three times the price. 
It will attract especial attention from the fact that the author 
is at the head of the well-known Cooking School in St. 
Mark's Place, New York. 



Critical Notices. 

„ "Miss Corson has done well to give the public this result of her 
experience in culinary teaching, in a form so cheap that it may have 
the widest possible usefulness. She is a common-sense woman, and 
takes up the subject from a point of view that is thoroughly practical. 
Her book is full of excellent information, scientific hints, practical 
suggestions, and plain receipts, descriptive of the preparation of many 
important dishes. We believe it will be found eminently trustworthy 
as a kitchen hand-book. 1 ' — Popular Science Monthly. 



3S 

"THE BOOK FOR THE TIMES." 

" A book of small pretensions and considerable value. The motto 
on the title-page gives an idea of the spirit and purpose of the book. 
Miss Corson is the head of the New York Cooking School, and is fitted 
both by study and practice to answer this important question." — Harp- 
er's Monthly. 

" 'The Cooking Manual* by Juliet Corson, the able Superintend- 
ent of the New York Cooking School, is emphatically a book for the 
hard times. It is full of practical common sense, and contains hints 
that are invaluable to young housekeepers, while the more experienced 
■ones cannot fail to learn much from it." — New York Herald. 



"One of the results of the New York Cooking School, whose good 
ivork has been a matter of general assent, is Miss Corson's ' Cooking 
Manual." There are over three hundred receipts given, and all 
these come within the compass of an every -day dinner, and the com- 
prehension of an ordinary cook. They are the triumph of judgment 
^and skill which makes of cooking a fine art. — New York World. 



"A good cook never wastes, and Miss Corson being the best of 
cooks, has a really surprising number of ways at command for mak- 
ing the most of the marketing, creating the greatest variety of dishes 
out of the smallest variety of materials, making something presenta- 
ble and palatable out of every scrag end, and finding profitable use 
for the most unpromising scraps." — N. Y* Evening Post, 

"There are a great many of us who cannot live better than by 
following Miss Corson's directions. Her "Cooking Manual" is a 
common-sense treatise on dishes suitable for the richest and the most 
moderate table ; it is certain that no housekeeper should be without a 
copy." — N. Y. Evening Telegram. 

"Miss Corson's 'Cooking Manual' is intended for the use of 
those cooks and housekeepers who wish to know how to make the 
most wholesome dishes at the least possible cost, and to teach con- 
scientious mothers of families how well they can live even if they are 
moderately poor." — New York Sun, 



"THE BOOK FOR THE TIMES." 



The receipts number nearly three hundred ; not one of them is 
beyond the means of any family which can afford to cook at all; while 
nearly all of them, if faithfully followed would put upon the rich 
man's table food more nourishing and palatable than nine out of ten 
well-to-do people ever taste outside of first-class restaurants."- — The 
Christian Union, 



"The Cooking Manual is an excellent little book by a ladyr 
who knows how cooking should be done." — New York Observer, 



>*£This little book is one of the most useful works that has been 
published for a long time on this subject. Miss Corson's efforts to 
introduce a more nourishing and healthy style of cooking in this coun- 
try have Heen attended with considerable success. Her writings on 
culinary reform are well known, and her Cooking School, which has 
been in existence three years, has been the subject of frequent 
praise from the New York press. Miss Corson understands both 
the art of cooking and of book-making, and knows how to say a 
great deal in a short space. Every housekeeper can find occasion to 
use the information contained in this work at least three times a 
day." — Cleveland Leader, 

"Simple dinners can be made delicate and delicious, or ill-cooked 
and unpalatable; and with the blessing of such cooking-books we can 
always command a comfortable dinner. It should be borne in mind 
these receipts are the actual results of lectures on cooking practically 
demonstrated in the school -room, thoroughly tested and passed upon. 
The directions are so simple that the most stupid cook can master 
them, while the book's general principles inculcate economy invaluable 
ki these hard times." — Petersburg, Va. Index and Appeal, 



" The secret of economy which gives skill to conceal cheap 
tilings," — Chicago Tribune, 



40 



MISS CORSON'S WORKS ON COOKERY AND DOMESTIC 
ECONOMY. 

TWENTY-FIVE CENT DINNERS FOR FAMILIES OF SIX.— Send 
ten cents, and postage stamp, for this invaluable little book 
which tells you how to prepare a good dinner for twenty-five 
cents. 

Address — 

Miss JULIET CORSON, 

Supt. JT. Y. Cooking School, 

8 St. Mark's Place, New York, 



MISS CORSON'S COOKING MANUAL; or, Practical Directions 
for Economical Every -Day Cookery." New York: Dodd ? 
Mead & Co. Pp. 144^ priee jo cents. 



OUR HOUSEHOLD COUNCIL; or, The Study of Domestic Econo- 
my as a Social Accomplishment. (Now being published serially.) 



FOODS: Their Sources, Uses and Methods of Preparation : An 
Every - day Book for Housekeepers and Cooks. {Nearly 
Ready.) 



THE BILL OF FARE, with Accompanying Receipts and Estimated 
Cost. A simple and complete guide for young housekeepers. 
{Nearly Ready.) 



A TEXT-BOOK FOR COOKING SCHOOLS.— Designed to forward 
the establishment of Cooking Schools throughout the country. 
(Nearly Ready.) 



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